Rained out Elton John Yarra Valley show can’t be rescheduled
As torrential rain washed out Elton John’s Yarra Valley show, a promoter urged fans to hold on to their tickets, saying “we’ll work it out for you”. Now they are being told the concert won’t be rescheduled.
Best of Melbourne
Don't miss out on the headlines from Best of Melbourne. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Superstar Elton John is unable to reschedule the Rochford Wines show cancelled mid-performance last Friday.
Punters who purchased tickets received an email from Ticketmaster today alerting them to the fact the concert cannot be rescheduled — despite being told to hold onto their tickets.
The email read “While a substantial amount of Friday evening’s show was performed, the show was cut short due to the extreme weather destroying musical instruments and equipment, forcing Elton John to leave the stage.
“Every attempt was made on the evening to finish the remaining songs, but the severity of the damage inflicted by the weather meant it could not continue. We have worked closely with local promoters Chugg Entertainment but unfortunately due to venue availability and the already committed Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour schedule, it is impossible to secure a window for Elton John to play in the valley again before he finishes his Australian tour. We understand and share your disappointment and will be working with partners to contact all ticket holders in the next week with further information.”
The Rochford Wines gig on January 31 had to be aborted at the 95 minute mark due to extreme weather conditions, when heavy rain direct on the performer and his piano short-circuited electronic equipment including the monitors on stage, leaving them unable to be used. Technicians covered Elton with tarps and he left the stage.
Elton’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road shows are running for just under three hours. He played 14 of a scheduled 25 songs.
Promoter Michael Chugg came on stage in the heat of the moment to address the audience at the A Day on the Green concert, and gave fans hope the gig would be rescheduled.
“We’ve been told it’s dangerous to try and play on. Be serious about it, we hate it, we’re all pissed off as you are, don’t worry about that it’s a f..king pain in the arse,” Chugg said on the night.
“We’re not going to be able to go on, (the rain’s) not going away, it’s probably going to get worse. Hang on to your tickets, he’s still in the country until March 7, somehow we’ll work it out for you.”
A Day on the Green punters on the events’ Facebook page had been waiting for the dates to be rescheduled.
However there is only a small window around Elton returning to Melbourne before the end of his farewell Australian tour.
After a show in Auckland on February 20, he flies back to Australia for a show at AAMI Park on February 22.
His next show is in Coffs Harbour on the north coast of New South Wales on February 25. The gaps between shows factor in rest time for the singer as well as time to transport his enormous stage across the country.
The final Australian show is in Sydney on March 7. Elton’s tour began in Perth on November 30.
He played a full concert at the same Rochford Wines venue on Saturday night, through rain, with the stage constantly being mopped so he wouldn’t fall over when he walked across it to acknowledge fans.
“We had a horror last night, we had to abandon the show,” Elton said at the start of the concert.
“There was so much rain the piano died. I would have carried on but we just couldn’t do it so I apologise profusely to the people who were here and didn’t see the last part of the show.”
The Saturday night show saw the singer have a hissy fit when his microphone died, throwing a bottle of water at one point and calling a member of the lighting crew a “turd” when a spotlight wasn’t put on a member of his band as he was being introduced.
Concerts cancelled due to extreme weather have become more common this year.
The Falls Festival cancelled over fears of bushfires near Lorne over the New Year period, Cold Chisel’s A Day on the Green show at Rutherglen on January 7 was cancelled due to poor air quality resulting from bushfire smoke and the Rainbow Serpent dance festival, due to take place in Lexton in regional Victoria over the January long weekend, was axed after safety concerns following the bushfire season.
The Red Hot Summer Tour show at Mornington Racecourse on January 19 was axed after three acts due to fears of lightning and storms. Fans missed out on seeing headline acts Hunters and Collectors, The Living End and James Reyne. The gig has now been rescheduled for April 25.